Q2 2026 Was The Quarter AI Media Started To Scale | AdExchanger

Advertising in AI-native destinations and experiences is already starting to look less like a series of experiments and more like an emerging market.

Three months ago, I argued that AI platforms had started acting like media companies. Now, the conversation has already changed. It wasn’t simply that OpenAI introduced ads in ChatGPT and advertisers started to experiment. It was that an entire ecosystem of buying tools, measurement, agency partnerships and commerce infrastructure began forming around AI media.

Here are the three biggest developments in Q2 2026 and what I’m watching in Q3.

#1: OpenAI had an advertising coming-out party

OpenAI got off to a fast start with advertising in ChatGPT in Q2; after launching in February 2026, ads are already available in eight countries around the world. The company spent most of Q2 developing the tools and features advertisers expect from a digital ad business, including a self-serve ad manager, conversions API and CPC bidding.